Dream home or stay put?

LavendarLilac2 · 2026-04-07T12:39:34+00:00

We are selling our home and want to buy a slightly bigger home but that leap feels huge, especially with mortgage interest rates around the 5% mark. With reference to the 50/30/20 rule, the new mortgage and all bills would be around that 50% mark. Is this normal? In this COL? Our friends all have opted for very small mortgages so it doesn’t feel “normal” in our circle of friends.

DarmokAndJaladAtTenagra · 07/04/2026 13:52

Do you need more space? Or want more space?

Will you need to reduce your current lifestyle for the new mortgage?

Are you happy to reduce your lifestyle further if mortgage rates increase when your fix ends? Could you afford 7% for example?

Do you have decent pay increases on the horizon?

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 07/04/2026 14:10

DarmokAndJaladAtTenagra · 07/04/2026 13:52

Do you need more space? Or want more space?

Will you need to reduce your current lifestyle for the new mortgage?

Are you happy to reduce your lifestyle further if mortgage rates increase when your fix ends? Could you afford 7% for example?

Do you have decent pay increases on the horizon?

We don’t need more space right now but ttc and will definitely need the space when we have children. Our current home is beautiful and we have maximised the space with loads of storage but it feels like we are just prolonging the inevitable by staying.

More than likely but that’s also going to happen when we have children so I can deal with that!

We could “afford” for our bills to double as in, survive.

Yes, pay likely to increase in the next 2 years by around 20%.

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DarmokAndJaladAtTenagra · 07/04/2026 14:18

Have you factored in how expensive kids are in your affordability plans - mat leave, childcare fees, all their clothes, toys, food, trips, clubs etc. What if you don't want to work full time after kids, or would rather not go for the promotion etc.
Does your current home have more than one bedroom?

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 07/04/2026 14:29

DarmokAndJaladAtTenagra · 07/04/2026 14:18

Have you factored in how expensive kids are in your affordability plans - mat leave, childcare fees, all their clothes, toys, food, trips, clubs etc. What if you don't want to work full time after kids, or would rather not go for the promotion etc.
Does your current home have more than one bedroom?

As much as you can (I think) given we don’t have any children yet. Our outgoings pre-children would be 50% approximately so we would have the same for savings/ fun money and children costs.

Yes, but I use the other bedroom as my office as I wfh full-time. Work are flexible so I could condense hours or go part-time if needed.

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ThatWaryLimePeer · 07/04/2026 19:53

How much more expensive is the new house and what are the fees involved?

Covingcrisis · 07/04/2026 20:04

Moving is so expensive now with stamp duty/ movers/solicitors/estate agent fees to consider. If you’re going to move anyway and are planning a family I would go for the biggest jump I could make rather than having to move again because you’ve outgrown the new space. We borrowed the maximum we could at the time, however it was based on my partners earnings only (I was on mat leave and a very low earner so not a huge difference). We adore our house and never plan to move again - it could be a forever home. We could have had a smaller semi with the same number of bedrooms on the same development for about £100k less and sometimes I do think we should have done that. However, our house is detached, big garden and two stories rather than three so if we really wanted to we could add a garden office or extend the ground floor, or convert the attic in the long term. I would say if you are planning a family and don’t want to move again I would have a good look at local school catchment areas and choose somewhere with a good one. We have friends who had a much much smaller mortgage than us because they bought when interest rates were really low and it was a much smaller property. They were going to stick it out until their fixed rate ended but ended up moving because they had run out of space. If you haven’t already I’d do a detailed budget of what you currently spend all your disposable income on, then look at the increased mortgage you’ll be paying and work out what you’re willing to cut out of your spending, that will guide you.

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 07/04/2026 20:52

ThatWaryLimePeer · 07/04/2026 19:53

How much more expensive is the new house and what are the fees involved?

Mortgage alone on the new house will be the same as the cost of all of our bills combined on this house but we are not your normal 30 year olds as we have almost paid off our mortgage on this house so our bills are very low! That’s what is feeling a bit scary as our bills represent a very small percentage of our total income.

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Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 07/04/2026 20:55

Covingcrisis · 07/04/2026 20:04

Moving is so expensive now with stamp duty/ movers/solicitors/estate agent fees to consider. If you’re going to move anyway and are planning a family I would go for the biggest jump I could make rather than having to move again because you’ve outgrown the new space. We borrowed the maximum we could at the time, however it was based on my partners earnings only (I was on mat leave and a very low earner so not a huge difference). We adore our house and never plan to move again - it could be a forever home. We could have had a smaller semi with the same number of bedrooms on the same development for about £100k less and sometimes I do think we should have done that. However, our house is detached, big garden and two stories rather than three so if we really wanted to we could add a garden office or extend the ground floor, or convert the attic in the long term. I would say if you are planning a family and don’t want to move again I would have a good look at local school catchment areas and choose somewhere with a good one. We have friends who had a much much smaller mortgage than us because they bought when interest rates were really low and it was a much smaller property. They were going to stick it out until their fixed rate ended but ended up moving because they had run out of space. If you haven’t already I’d do a detailed budget of what you currently spend all your disposable income on, then look at the increased mortgage you’ll be paying and work out what you’re willing to cut out of your spending, that will guide you.

These are my thoughts. It is very rare that a house we like comes on to the market so feels like we just need to take the leap.

We were actually very shocked at how much we can lend, far beyond what we would ever need or want to commit to! Our mortgage will be approximately half of what we could lend according to our mortgage adviser but we have very low bills right now and have a certain lifestyle we would like to maintain.

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ThatWaryLimePeer · 07/04/2026 22:28

LavendarLilac2 · 07/04/2026 20:52

Mortgage alone on the new house will be the same as the cost of all of our bills combined on this house but we are not your normal 30 year olds as we have almost paid off our mortgage on this house so our bills are very low! That’s what is feeling a bit scary as our bills represent a very small percentage of our total income.

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So you have a tiny mortgage now and want to move and get a more regular sized mortgage, that sounds fine.

RomeoOscarXrayXray · 08/04/2026 21:30

DarmokAndJaladAtTenagra · 07/04/2026 13:52

Do you need more space? Or want more space?

Will you need to reduce your current lifestyle for the new mortgage?

Are you happy to reduce your lifestyle further if mortgage rates increase when your fix ends? Could you afford 7% for example?

Do you have decent pay increases on the horizon?

Picard and Dathon at El-adrel.

🖖

LLAP.

Zanatdy · 09/04/2026 00:28

I guess there’s 2 ways of thinking about it. One, wait it out, and save as much as possible whilst having a small mortgage. Interest rates currently spiked due to middle east, but this could be temporary. I got a 4.08 rate on 13th March, and just days later the lender took that product off the market. It’s now over 5% as you say. The rate had been dropping nicely as I put a bid in on a property 2yrs ago, and rate was 5.8. But the rate changes fast, it might settle if middle east settles and Trump behaves.

Second way of thinking - house prices probably unlikely to fall long term. The area i’m relocating to in the north west in a few months has had an increase in property prices of around 40%. My brother owns a flat, and he has been dithering about buying a house for several years, and now he’s pretty much priced himself out of the market as flats not risen in same way. And he is kicking himself big time. So if you want to move anyway, you might aswell do it now, rather than wait for prices to rise. I’d probably wait a couple of months though to see if the middle east situation calms.

50% of income on mortgage and bills is great. They say no more than 30% rent or mortgage. Mine combined is more than 50%. Remember to factor in future childcare costs though if you’re yet to have dc. Cost of dc is more than you think!

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 09/04/2026 10:36

Zanatdy · 09/04/2026 00:28

I guess there’s 2 ways of thinking about it. One, wait it out, and save as much as possible whilst having a small mortgage. Interest rates currently spiked due to middle east, but this could be temporary. I got a 4.08 rate on 13th March, and just days later the lender took that product off the market. It’s now over 5% as you say. The rate had been dropping nicely as I put a bid in on a property 2yrs ago, and rate was 5.8. But the rate changes fast, it might settle if middle east settles and Trump behaves.

Second way of thinking - house prices probably unlikely to fall long term. The area i’m relocating to in the north west in a few months has had an increase in property prices of around 40%. My brother owns a flat, and he has been dithering about buying a house for several years, and now he’s pretty much priced himself out of the market as flats not risen in same way. And he is kicking himself big time. So if you want to move anyway, you might aswell do it now, rather than wait for prices to rise. I’d probably wait a couple of months though to see if the middle east situation calms.

50% of income on mortgage and bills is great. They say no more than 30% rent or mortgage. Mine combined is more than 50%. Remember to factor in future childcare costs though if you’re yet to have dc. Cost of dc is more than you think!

Thank you - it is interesting hearing the two perspectives. We are semi-rural and given the effects of covid where city folk all swarmed to buy our “cheaper” properties in the countryside, our property prices have absolutely sky rocketed. Mine is now worth more than 3x what I paid for it. It was a brilliant buy but it has also meant that “the next step” properties feel like such an enormous leap given the mortgage rates.

We are in no real rush but we also don’t have the luxury of waiting around either because houses do not stay on the market long here.

I don’t think I’d be moving if I didn’t know for definite that our salaries would increase. I’m very junior so my salary will increase but DH is also due to qualify so his salary will increase substantially.

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Zanatdy · 09/04/2026 11:51

LavendarLilac2 · 09/04/2026 10:36

Thank you - it is interesting hearing the two perspectives. We are semi-rural and given the effects of covid where city folk all swarmed to buy our “cheaper” properties in the countryside, our property prices have absolutely sky rocketed. Mine is now worth more than 3x what I paid for it. It was a brilliant buy but it has also meant that “the next step” properties feel like such an enormous leap given the mortgage rates.

We are in no real rush but we also don’t have the luxury of waiting around either because houses do not stay on the market long here.

I don’t think I’d be moving if I didn’t know for definite that our salaries would increase. I’m very junior so my salary will increase but DH is also due to qualify so his salary will increase substantially.

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That’s frustrating that prices have rocketed with people moving more rural post covid. A lot of employers now are wanting their staff back in the office more often, so hopefully people will stop moving more rural when they still have city jobs.

TwoeightTwoeightTwoOhhhh · 10/04/2026 22:58

Depends.
if the 50% leaves you with £500 to split between spending and savings I’d say it’s tight.
if it leaves you with £10000 to split between spending and savings I’d say you have plenty of room to adjust your lifestyle if you need to.
Only you will know how it feels…. Arbitrary % are meaningless. It’s what you are left to live on, whether there is room to adjust, and whether that gives you a squeaky bum

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 11/04/2026 08:25

TwoeightTwoeightTwoOhhhh · 10/04/2026 22:58

Depends.
if the 50% leaves you with £500 to split between spending and savings I’d say it’s tight.
if it leaves you with £10000 to split between spending and savings I’d say you have plenty of room to adjust your lifestyle if you need to.
Only you will know how it feels…. Arbitrary % are meaningless. It’s what you are left to live on, whether there is room to adjust, and whether that gives you a squeaky bum

Edited

It’ll be around £2.5k and we currently save this amount per month. We have decent savings/ investments so I think we could probably reduce the amount we save each month to maintain our lifestyle.

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VivaciousCurrentBun · 11/04/2026 08:43

What age are you and how many months or weeks savings can remain untouched for emergencies if you move?

What you have to be is honest about what standard of living you want with the drop in disposable income.

Original poster

LavendarLilac2 · 11/04/2026 08:46

VivaciousCurrentBun · 11/04/2026 08:43

What age are you and how many months or weeks savings can remain untouched for emergencies if you move?

What you have to be is honest about what standard of living you want with the drop in disposable income.

30 - approx 2 years (myself). DH probably has a years worth maybe 2 as well. We also have investments/ savings that we could access in an absolute emergency but I’d rather not.

I don’t think our lifestyle would change much. We would just save less.

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